Outside the Box
Meta Platforms, Alphabet and other tech giants are limiting or removing transparency tools such as CrowdTangle
Last Updated:
First Published:
Tech giant Meta Platforms Inc. META has quietly dismantled one of its most important tools for public-interest monitoring and oversight. CrowdTangle, a data-tracking tool Meta purchased in 2016, made it possible for approved academics, journalists, election observers and researchers to study activity on Meta’s social media platforms — namely Instagram and Facebook.
Since its launch, this tool has allowed researchers to track Islamic State propaganda content; aided journalists in identifying local voices for key stories such as the COVID-19 epidemic; and helped researchers analyze Russian-backed influence operations in Africa. In 2020, The New York Times deemed it “perhaps the most effective transparency tool in the history of social media.”
Read the full article here
